Checking facts

[Luca E]

I only just arrived here and started posting a story. I have loads of questions and like to knows.

I will start with a like to know, then post a question in another thread to keep it clean and not mixed up.

I'm posting a fantasy with a touch of surreal and what I would like to know is do you check facts when you write to be sure you got things correct. As an example: in my story the protagonists fly in a private jet from Morocco to Japan, I checked the speed and fuel consumption of a small jet, I checked the flight path, and I worked out how far they could go before needing to land to refuel, so where they might stop off. 

Remember, I said it's a fantasy story. In could have ignored any semblance of reality, but I like to know if a reader checked then they would find it was correct and I think stories grounded in reality, even fantasy stories, are more believable.

What do you think? Do you go to the trouble of checking facts?

[kbois]

Welcome to GA! This is a great community and a wonderful way to get your stories out there where they can be enjoyed. 

I'm one for fact checking, even if the genre does not take place in the conventional world. My first few stories were settings that I was familiar with. When I use a new location I get as much information as I reasonably can, but I don't go overboard. 

Other members are a great source. I've messaged several of them privately to ask questions specific to the general area the live in. 

Having an editor and/or beta reader helps tremendously. Reach out in the Writer's Circle if you don't have one. 

Good luck with your writing!

[Headstall]

4 hours ago, Luca E said:

I only just arrived here and started posting a story. I have loads of questions and like to knows.

I will start with a like to know, then post a question in another thread to keep it clean and not mixed up.

I'm posting a fantasy with a touch of surreal and what I would like to know is do you check facts when you write to be sure you got things correct. As an example: in my story the protagonists fly in a private jet from Morocco to Japan, I checked the speed and fuel consumption of a small jet, I checked the flight path, and I worked out how far they could go before needing to land to refuel, so where they might stop off. 

Remember, I said it's a fantasy story. In could have ignored any semblance of reality, but I like to know if a reader checked then they would find it was correct and I think stories grounded in reality, even fantasy stories, are more believable.

What do you think? Do you go to the trouble of checking facts?

Hi, Luca! Welcome to GA. I always do my research, having learned never to assume you know something. Research makes a story better, without a doubt. I've gone down rabbit holes over some details, but that is a part of the process for me. Lazy writing means not caring, and I don't think that kind of work stands up in the end. 

You're doing the right thing in my opinion. Taking pride in what we create is key to our satisfaction. Good luck with your writing. Cheers! Gary.

[MrM]

Welcome to GA and thank you for contributing!

I’m also writing a fantasy and have grounded it in actual history and real world archaeology so I’m constantly fact checking so that I can get things straight. Grounding your fantasy in real world facts makes the story more relatable, in my opinion. It’s a very wise strategy - though, maybe, a bit more challenging.

Google is definitely your friend and I’m always amazed at things I learn in my research that I would not have known otherwise. It makes making your adventure an adventure!

Edited July 15, 2023 by MrM

[W_L]

I guess I am late to the club, but I am doing the same with my current story

Medieval Fantasy with historical elements with some sci-fi influences.

Google is helpful, along with a lot of prep reading on the period in history or several podcasts on Audible/YouTube. The era between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I is really exciting with various plots and intrigues between various groups trying to take power. England in the mid-16th century was like Revolutionary France, with rebellions, ideological battles, foreign conspiracies, and spies galore. In such a cesspool, a golden age could come out is beyond amazing. I could have just written historical fiction and been satisfied, but I wanted to go one step further and do historical fantasy since this was the tipping point of civilization as well with the continental Wars of Religion in German lands, France, and the Netherlands.

Add some hard-won knowledge about politics, a spunky freethinking intersex main character, and a take-no-prisoners plot, I couldn't stop writing it